Transport coefficient approach for characterizing nonequilibrium dynamics in soft matter.

Nonequilibrium states in soft condensed matter require a systematic approach to characterize and model materials, enhancing predictability and applications. Among the tools, X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) provides exceptional temporal and spatial resolution to extract dynamic insight into the properties of the material. However, existing models might overlook intricate details. We introduce an approach for extracting the transport coefficient, denoted as [Formula: see text], from the XPCS studies. This coefficient is a fundamental parameter in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and is crucial for characterizing transport processes within a system. Our method unifies the Green-Kubo formulas associated with various transport coefficients, including gradient flows, particle-particle interactions, friction matrices, and continuous noise. We achieve this by integrating the collective influence of random and systematic forces acting on the particles within the framework of a Markov chain. We initially validated this method using molecular dynamics simulations of a system subjected to changes in temperatures over time. Subsequently, we conducted further verification using experimental systems reported in the literature and known for their complex nonequilibrium characteristics. The results, including the derived [Formula: see text] and other relevant physical parameters, align with the previous observations and reveal detailed dynamical information in nonequilibrium states. This approach represents an advancement in XPCS analysis, addressing the growing demand to extract intricate nonequilibrium dynamics. Further, the methods presented are agnostic to the nature of the material system and can be potentially expanded to hard condensed matter systems.

Using a thermal gradient table to study plant temperature signalling and response across a temperature spectrum.

Plants must cope with ever-changing temperature conditions in their environment. In many plant species, suboptimal high and low temperatures can induce adaptive mechanisms that allow optimal performance. Thermomorphogenesis is the acclimation to high ambient temperature, whereas cold acclimation refers to the acquisition of cold tolerance following a period of low temperatures. The molecular mechanisms underlying thermomorphogenesis and cold acclimation are increasingly well understood but neither signalling components that have an apparent role in acclimation to both cold and warmth, nor factors determining dose-responsiveness, are currently well defined. This can be explained in part by practical limitations, as applying temperature gradients requires the use of multiple growth conditions simultaneously, usually unavailable in research laboratories. Here we demonstrate that commercially available thermal gradient tables can be used to grow and assess plants over a defined and adjustable steep temperature gradient within one experiment. We describe technical and thermodynamic aspects and provide considerations for plant growth and treatment. We show that plants display the expected morphological, physiological, developmental and molecular responses that are typically associated with high temperature and cold acclimation. This includes temperature dose-response effects on seed germination, hypocotyl elongation, leaf development, hyponasty, rosette growth, temperature marker gene expression, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, ion leakage and hydrogen peroxide levels. In conclusion, thermal gradient table systems enable standardized and predictable environments to study plant responses to varying temperature regimes and can be swiftly implemented in research on temperature signalling and response.

Value of quantitative microsurface structure analysis for evaluating the invasion depth of type 0-II early gastric cancer.

Background and Aim: The microsurface structure reflects the degree of damage to the glands, which is related to the invasion depth of early gastric cancer. To evaluate the diagnostic value of quantitative microsurface structure analysis for estimating the invasion depth of early gastric cancer. Methods: White-light imaging and narrow-band imaging (NBI) endoscopy were used to visualize the lesions of the included patients. The area ratio and depth-predicting score (DPS) of each patient were calculated; meanwhile, each lesion was examined by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Results: Ninety-three patients were included between 2016 and 2019. Microsurface structure is related to the histological differentiation and progression of early gastric cancer. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that when an area ratio of 80.3% was used as a cut-off value for distinguishing mucosal (M) and submucosal (SM) type 0-II gastric cancers, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 82.9%, 80.2%, and 91.6%, respectively. The accuracies for distinguishing M/SM differentiated and undifferentiated early gastric cancers were 87.4% and 84.8%, respectively. The accuracy of EUS for distinguishing M/SM early gastric cancer was 74.9%. DPS can only distinguish M-SM1 (SM infiltration <500 µm)/SM (SM infiltration ≥500 µm) with an accuracy of 83.8%. The accuracy of using area ratio for distinguishing 0-II early gastric cancers was better than those of using DPS and EUS (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Quantitative analysis of microsurface structure can be performed to assess M/SM type 0-II gastric cancer and is expected to be effective for judging the invasion depth of gastric cancer.

Light-Chain Cardiac Amyloidosis: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for Assessing Response to Chemotherapy

Objective@#Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a diagnostic tool that provides precise and reproducible information about cardiac structure, function, and tissue characterization, aiding in the monitoring of chemotherapy response in patients with lightchain cardiac amyloidosis (AL-CA). This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of CMR in monitoring responses to chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA. @*Materials and Methods@#In this prospective study, we enrolled 111 patients with AL-CA (50.5% male; median age, 54 [interquartile range, 49–63] years). Patients underwent longitudinal monitoring using biomarkers and CMR imaging. At followup after chemotherapy, patients were categorized into superior and inferior response groups based on their hematological and cardiac laboratory responses to chemotherapy. Changes in CMR findings across therapies and differences between response groups were analyzed. @*Results@#Following chemotherapy (before vs. after), there were significant increases in myocardial T2 (43.6 ± 3.5 ms vs. 44.6 ± 4.1 ms; P = 0.008), recovery in right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain (median of -9.6% vs. -11.7%; P = 0.031), and decrease in RV extracellular volume fraction (ECV) (median of 53.9% vs. 51.6%; P = 0.048). These changes were more pronounced in the superior-response group. Patients with superior cardiac laboratory response showed significantly greater reductions in RV ECV (-2.9% [interquartile range, -8.7%–1.1%] vs. 1.7% [-5.5%–7.1%]; P = 0.017) and left ventricular ECV (-2.0% [-6.0%–1.3%] vs. 2.0% [-3.0%–5.0%]; P = 0.01) compared with those with inferior response. @*Conclusion@#Cardiac amyloid deposition can regress following chemotherapy in patients with AL-CA, particularly showing more prominent regression, possibly earlier, in the RV. CMR emerges as an effective tool for monitoring associated tissue characteristics and ventricular functional recovery in patients with AL-CA undergoing chemotherapy, thereby supporting its utility in treatment response assessment.

A systematic review of mouse model construction for sarcopenia / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Sarcopenia is a progressive,generalized skeletal muscle disease that is closely related to the occurrence of osteoarthritis,fractures,limb disability and death in the elderly.Establishing animal models of sarcopenia is essential to understand the pathophysiology of sarcopenia and to identify effective treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE:To review the evaluation criteria of mouse models of sarcopenia and the modeling methods of mouse models of sarcopenia,and to analyze and compare the advantages and disadvantages of various modeling methods,in order to provide reference for the research and diagnosis and treatment of sarcopenia. METHODS:"Sarcopenia,skeletal muscle aging,mouse model,animal model"in Chinese and English were used as Chinese and English search terms,respectively.The search formula was"(sarcopenia OR skeletal muscle aging)AND(mouse model OR animal model)."CNKI,WanFang and PubMed were searched for related articles published from January 2010 and October 2022.A total of 59 articles were finally included for analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There is a faster modeling time in SAMP8 mice and the type of muscle atrophy is consistent with that of patients with sarcopenia.Therefore,it is an ideal model.Although the surgical method can successfully induce muscle atrophy,it requires precise surgical operation,which is difficult and time-consuming.Hindlimb suspension modeling in mice is similar to that of the elderly and can be regarded as an effective model of senile sarcopenia.Although reagent injection molding is simple to perform,both the dose and number of days of administration of reagents are not clear and need to be further investigated.Transgenic mouse models are less commonly used and their model stability needs further study.The search for a mouse model with low cost,short time consumption and high simulation of human sarcopenia is still a future research direction.

Stretching of immersed polyelectrolyte brushes in shear flow.

The way that polymer brushes respond to shear flow has important implications in various applications, including antifouling, corrosion protection, and stimuli-responsive materials. However, there is still much to learn about the behaviours and mechanisms that govern these responses. To address this gap in knowledge, our study uses in situ X-ray reflectivity to investigate how poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) brushes stretch and change in different environments, such as isopropanol (a poor solvent), water (a good solvent), and aqueous solutions containing various cations (Cs+, Ba2+, La3+, and Y3+). We have designed a custom apparatus that exposes the PSS brushes to both tangential shear forces from the primary flow and upward drag forces from a secondary flow. Our experimental findings clearly show that shear forces have a significant impact on how the chains in PSS brushes are arranged. At low shear rates, the tangential shear force causes the chains to tilt, leading to brush contraction. In contrast, higher shear rates generate an upward shear force that stretches and expands the chains. By analysing electron density profiles obtained from X-ray reflectivity, we gain valuable insights into how the PSS brushes respond structurally, especially the role of the diffuse layer in this dynamic behaviour. Our results highlight the importance of the initial chain configuration, which is influenced by the solvent and cations present, in shaping how polymer brushes respond to shear flow. The strength of the salt bridge network also plays a crucial role in determining how easily the brushes can stretch, with stronger networks offering more resistance to stretching. Ultimately, our study aims to enhance our understanding of polymer physics at interfaces, with a particular focus on practical applications involving polymer brushes.

Probing three-dimensional mesoscopic interfacial structures in a single view using multibeam X-ray coherent surface scattering and holography imaging.

Visualizing surface-supported and buried planar mesoscale structures, such as nanoelectronics, ultrathin-film quantum dots, photovoltaics, and heterogeneous catalysts, often requires high-resolution X-ray imaging and scattering. Here, we discovered that multibeam scattering in grazing-incident reflection geometry is sensitive to three-dimensional (3D) structures in a single view, which is difficult in conventional scattering or imaging approaches. We developed a 3D finite-element-based multibeam-scattering analysis to decode the heterogeneous electric-field distribution and to faithfully reproduce the complex scattering and surface features. This approach further leads to the demonstration of hard-X-ray Lloyd's mirror interference of scattering waves, resembling dark-field, high-contrast surface holography under the grazing-angle scattering conditions. A first-principles calculation of the single-view holographic images resolves the surface patterns' 3D morphology with nanometer resolutions, which is critical for ultrafine nanocircuit metrology. The holographic method and simulations pave the way for single-shot structural characterization for visualizing irreversible and morphology-transforming physical and chemical processes in situ or operando.

Kinetics of Shear-Induced Structural Ordering in Dense Colloids.

The macroscopic rheological response of a colloidal solution is highly correlated with the local microscopic structure, as revealed by an in situ Rheo-SAXS experiment with a high temporal resolution. Oscillatory shear can induce a strain-controlled ordering-to-disorder transition, resulting in a shear-thickening process that is different from the normal shear-thickening behavior that is driven by hydrodynamics and particle friction. We reveal that there is a complex time-dependent kinetics toward structural ordering under different applied strains. When the strain amplitude reaches a critical value that starts to induce disordering in the system, the pathway toward the dynamic equilibrium can also become highly non-monotonic. Within the same oscillatory cycle, there is a strong correlation of ordering with different phases of the oscillation, with the system oscillating between two dynamic metastable states.

Multislice forward modeling of coherent surface scattering imaging on surface and interfacial structures.

To study nanostructures on substrates, surface-sensitive reflection-geometry scattering techniques such as grazing incident small angle X-ray scattering are commonly used to yield an averaged statistical structural information of the surface sample. Grazing incidence geometry can probe the absolute three-dimensional structural morphology of the sample if a highly coherent beam is used. Coherent surface scattering imaging (CSSI) is a powerful yet non-invasive technique similar to coherent X-ray diffractive imaging (CDI) but performed at small angles and grazing-incidence reflection geometry. A challenge with CSSI is that conventional CDI reconstruction techniques cannot be directly applied to CSSI because the Fourier-transform-based forward models cannot reproduce the dynamical scattering phenomenon near the critical angle of total external reflection of the substrate-supported samples. To overcome this challenge, we have developed a multislice forward model which can successfully simulate the dynamical or multi-beam scattering generated from surface structures and the underlying substrate. The forward model is also demonstrated to be able to reconstruct an elongated 3D pattern from a single shot scattering image in the CSSI geometry through fast-performing CUDA-assisted PyTorch optimization with automatic differentiation.

Arabidopsis latent virus 1, a comovirus widely spread in Arabidopsis thaliana collections.

Transcriptome studies of Illumina RNA-Seq datasets of different Arabidopsis thaliana natural accessions and T-DNA mutants revealed the presence of two virus-like RNA sequences which showed the typical two-segmented genome characteristics of a comovirus. This comovirus did not induce any visible symptoms in infected A. thaliana plants cultivated under standard laboratory conditions. Hence it was named Arabidopsis latent virus 1 (ArLV1). Virus infectivity in A. thaliana plants was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, transmission electron microscopy and mechanical inoculation. Arabidopsis latent virus 1 can also mechanically infect Nicotiana benthamiana, causing distinct mosaic symptoms. A bioinformatics investigation of A. thaliana RNA-Seq repositories, including nearly 6500 Sequence Read Archives (SRAs) in the NCBI SRA database, revealed the presence of ArLV1 in 25% of all archived natural A. thaliana accessions and in 8.5% of all analyzed SRAs. Arabidopsis latent virus 1 could also be detected in A. thaliana plants collected from the wild. Arabidopsis latent virus 1 is highly seed-transmissible with up to 40% incidence on the progeny derived from infected A. thaliana plants. This has probably led to a worldwide distribution in the model plant A. thaliana with as yet unknown effects on plant performance in a substantial number of studies.

Risk factors of childhood systemic lupus erythematosus with thyroid dysfunction / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To investigate the risk factors of childhood systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with thyroid dysfunction and to explore the relationship between thyroid hormone and kidney injury of lupus nephritis (LN). Methods: In this retrospective study, 253 patients who were diagnosed with childhood SLE and hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2019 to January 2021 were enrolled in the case group, and 70 healthy children were the control cases. The patients in the case group were divided into the normal thyroid group and the thyroid dysfunction group. Independent t-test, χ2 test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for comparison between the groups, Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis, and Spearman correlation. Results: A total of 253 patients, there were 44 males and 209 females in the case group, and the age of onset was 14 (12, 16) years; a total of 70 patients, 24 males and 46 females were in the control group, and the age of onset was 13 (10, 13) years. The incidence of thyroid dysfunction in the case group was higher than that in the control group (48.2% (122/253) vs. 8.6% (6/70), χ²=36.03, P<0.05). Of the 131 patients, there were 17 males and 114 females in the normal thyroid group, and the age of onset was 14 (12, 16) years. Of the 122 patients in the thyroid dysfunction group, 28 males and 94 females were in the thyroid dysfunction group, and the age of onset was 14 (12, 16) years. Of the 122 had thyroid dysfunction, including 51 cases (41.8%) with euthyroid sick syndrome, 25 cases (20.5%) with subclinical hypothyroidism, 18 cases (14.8%) patients with sub-hyperthyroidism, 12 cases (9.8%) with hypothyroidism, 10 cases (8.2%) with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 4 cases (3.3%) with hyperthyroidism, and 2 cases (1.6%) with Graves disease. Compared to patients with normal thyroid function, the serum level of triglyceride, total cholesterol, urine white blood cell, urine red blood cell, 24 h urine protein, D-dimer, and fibrinogen, ferritin and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K) score were higher in patients with thyroid dysfunction (Z=3.07, 3.07, 2.48, 3.16, 2.40, 3.99, 2.68, 2.55, 2.80, all P<0.05), while the serum level of free thyroxine and C3 were lower in thyroid disfunction patients (10.6 (9.1, 12.7) vs. 11.3 (10.0, 12.9) pmol/L, and 0.46 (0.27, 0.74) vs. 0.57 (0.37, 0.82) g/L, Z=2.18, 2.42, both P<0.05). The higher level of triglyceride and D-dimer were the independent risk factors for childhood SLE with thyroid dysfunction (OR=1.40 and 1.35, 95%CI 1.03-1.89 and 1.00-1.81, respectively, both P<0.05). There were 161 patients with LN in the case group, all of which were conducted with renal biopsies, including 11 cases (6.8%) with types Ⅰ LN, 11 cases (6.8%) with typesⅡLN, 31 cases (19.3%) with types Ⅲ LN, 92 cases (57.1%) with types Ⅳ LN, and 16 cases (9.9%) with types Ⅴ LN. There were significant differences in the level of free triiodothyronine and thyroid stimulating hormone among different types of kidney pathology (both P<0.05); compared with types I LN, the serum level of free triiodothyronine was lower in types Ⅳ LN (3.4 (2.8, 3.9) vs. 4.3 (3.7, 5.5) pmol/L, Z=3.75, P<0.05). The serum level of free triiodothyronine was negatively correlated with the acute activity index score of lupus nephritis (r=-0.228, P<0.05), while the serum level of thyroid stimulating hormone was positively correlated with the renal pathological acute activity index score of lupus nephritis (r=0.257, P<0.05). Conclusions: There is a high incidence of thyroid dysfunction in childhood SLE patients. The higher SLEDAI and more severe renal damage were found in SLE patients with thyroid dysfunction compared to these with normal thyroid functions. The risk factors of childhood SLE with thyroid dysfunction are the higher level of triglyceride and D-dimer. The serum level of thyroid hormone is possibly related to the kidney injury of LN.

Development of Multifunctional and Multipoint Fixed Support Drainage Device for Digestive Tract / 中国医疗器械杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To discuss the development of a multifunctional and multipoint fixed support drainage device for the digestive tract, as well as the effect of its application on animal experimental models and patients.@*METHODS@#The digestive tract multifunctional and multipoint fixed support drainage device is designed according to the requirements of the various gastrointestinal surgery and interventional procedures. It has metal flaps and airbags to achieve multi point fixation. The cuffs and shears are used to achieve endoscopic removal. And through different tube diameters and lengths, surgeons can achieve different surgical purposes.@*RESULTS@#A multifunctional and multipoint fixed support drainage device for the digestive tract was successfully designed and developed. The application experiment of the winged pancreatico-intestinal supporting drainage tube on animal models and patients, showed lower drainage fluid amylase level, faster amylase recovery speed, and better perioperative safety.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The support drainage device has the characteristics of simple operation, firm fixation, and good controllability of removal. It is an ideal choice among support drainage tubes in gastrointestinal surgery and interventional operations.

Comparative analysis of clinical efficacy between posterior percutaneous endoscopic discectomy and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion in the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the clinical efficacy of posterior percutaneous endoscopic discectomy(PPECD) in the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy.@*METHODS@#A total of 56 patiens with single segment cervical spondylotic radiculopathy from December 2017 to October 2020, were randomly divided into observation group and control group. In observation group, there were 16 males and 11 females, including 8 cases of C4,5, 13 cases of C5,6 and 6 cases of C6,7 performed posterior percutaneous endoscopic discectomy, aged from 34 to 61 years old with an average of (51.15±6.29) years old. In control group, there were 19 males and 10 females with single segment cervical spondylotic radiculopathy including 10 cases of C4,5, 14 cases of C5,6 and 5 cases of C6,7 performed anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, aged from 40 to 65 years old with an average of (53.24±5.31) years old. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative time of lying in bed and length of postoperative hospital stay were recorded. Visual analogue scale(VAS) and neck disability index(NDI) were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy. Cervical plain films or MRIs, CTs were taken for re-visiting patients.@*RESULTS@#All patients were followed up more than 2 years. The observation group patients were followed up, the duration ranged from 24 to 42 months with an average of (30.48±4.91) months. The control group patients were followed up, the duration ranged from 25 to 47 months, with an average of (32.76±4.53) months. Compared with control group, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative time of lying in bed and length of postoperative hospital stay were decreased(P<0.05). Compared with pre-operation, VAS of neck and upper limb and NDI at the latest follow-up between two groups were significantly improved(P<0.05). Compared with control group, VAS of neck and upper limb at 1 day after operation in observation group were significantly reduced(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in VAS of neck and upper limb and NID at 1, 3 months and the latest follow-up after operation between two groups(P>0.05). In the observation group, one patient's deltoid muscle strength was weakened to grade 4 after operation, and returned to normal after 12 weeks of conservative treatment. In control group, there was 1 case of postoperative adjacent spondylosis with symptoms of spinal compression after 2 years operation, then underwent cervical artificial intervertebral disc replacement. And there was 1 case of dysphagia after operation in control group and improved after 1 year. There was no significant difference in incidence of complications between two groups.@*CONCLUSION@#PPECD has advantages of shortening operative time, decreasing intraoperative blood loss, reducing postoperative time of lying in bed and length of postoperative hospital stay. However, applicable age range of patients and long-term clinical efficacy needs further study.

Effect of the inactivated new tuberculosis vaccine strain(B/R strain)on the immune memory of T lymphocytes in mice / 中国人兽共患病学报

To investigate the effect of inactivated new tu-berculosis vaccine strain(B/R strain)on immune memory of T lymphocytes in mice,C57BL/6 mice were immunized with PBS,BCG strain,B/R strain and inactivated B/R strain.At week 9,12 and 15 after immunization,the spleens of each group were taken,and the spleen lymphocytes were extracted.Half of the spleen lymphocytes in each group were directly de-tected,and the rest were cultured in vitro and stimulated with PPD according to the experimental design.Flow cytometry was used to detect the number of central memory T cells(TCM)and effector memory T cells(TEM)in spleen lymphocytes of uns-timulated and stimulated mice.Without PPD stimulation after immunization,the CD4+TCM(F=13.20,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=28.15,P＜0.05)induced by inactivated B/R group,B/R group and BCG group was higher than that of PBS group at week 9.The induced CD8+TCM(F=8.92,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(F=6.13,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group.At week 12,the CD4+TCM(F=15.97,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=13.60,P＜0.05)induced by each group was higher than that of PBS group.The induced CD8+TCM(F=5.52,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(F=20.15,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group.At week 15,the CD4+TCM(F=15.40,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=7.43,P＜0.05)induced by each group was higher than that of PBS group.The induced CD8+TCM(F=6.57,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(F=9.27,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group.At week 9,the CD4+TCM(F=9.66,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=11.20,P＜0.05)induced by inacti-vated B/R group,B/R group and BCG group was higher than that of PBS group.The induced CD8+TCM(F=7.24,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(F=9.30,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group.At week 12,the CD4+TCM(F=9.33,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=6.94,P＜0.05)induced by each group was higher than that of PBS group.The induced CD8+TCM(F=67.71,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(F=10.86,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group.At week 15,the CD4+TCM(F=39.88,P＜0.05)and CD4+TEM(F=11.93,P＜0.05)induced by each group was higher than that of PBS group.The induced CD8+TCM and CD8+TEM(F=38.47,P＜0.05)was higher than that of PBS group(F=138.80,P＜0.05).It is worth noting that at week 15,the CD8+TCM(qinactivated B/R=12.24,qB/R=12.61,P＜0.05)and CD8+TEM(qinactivated B/R=7.19,qB/R=5.00,P＜0.05)induced by inactivated B/R group and B/R group were higher than those of BCG group.The immunizing mice with inactivated B/R strain,the ability of inducing immune memory of T lymphocytes in mice was equivalent to that of B/R strain.Heat-inacti-vation did not affect the ability of B/R strain to induce immune memory in mice.

Modulating the Rise and Decay Dynamics of Upconversion Luminescence through Controlling Excitations.

Different from organic dye/quantum dot possessing one luminescent center, upconversion luminescence (UCL) is actually a statistic of temporal behaviors of countless individual activators. Our experimental results have shown that the rise and decay dynamics of UCL is directly associated with the relative contribution of sensitizer-to-activator energy transfer and energy migration among sensitizers, which can be physically modulated by simply tuning the excitation laser. Therefore, dynamic UCL with record-wide 20-fold lifetime, ≈70-fold red-to-green intensity ratio, and reversibly definable emission color is easily realized by just modulating the excitation laser. Moreover, this generally applicable strategy only requires a simplest-possible UCL system whereas prevalent material engineering such as complicated composition design, sophisticated core-shell construction, or tedious chemical synthesis, is no longer needed.

Cardiovascular Imaging in China: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

The high prevalence and mortality of cardiovascular diseases in China's large population has increased the use of cardiovascular imaging for the assessment of conditions in recent years. In this study, we review the past 20 years of cardiovascular imaging in China, the increasingly important role played by cardiovascular computed tomography in coronary artery disease and pulmonary embolism assessment, magnetic resonance imaging's use for cardiomyopathy assessment, the development and application of artificial intelligence in cardiovascular imaging, and the future of Chinese cardiovascular imaging.

Small-world complex network generation on a digital quantum processor.

Quantum cellular automata (QCA) evolve qubits in a quantum circuit depending only on the states of their neighborhoods and model how rich physical complexity can emerge from a simple set of underlying dynamical rules. The inability of classical computers to simulate large quantum systems hinders the elucidation of quantum cellular automata, but quantum computers offer an ideal simulation platform. Here, we experimentally realize QCA on a digital quantum processor, simulating a one-dimensional Goldilocks rule on chains of up to 23 superconducting qubits. We calculate calibrated and error-mitigated population dynamics and complex network measures, which indicate the formation of small-world mutual information networks. These networks decohere at fixed circuit depth independent of system size, the largest of which corresponding to 1,056 two-qubit gates. Such computations may enable the employment of QCA in applications like the simulation of strongly-correlated matter or beyond-classical computational demonstrations.

Effects of sublethal single, simultaneous and sequential abiotic stresses on phenotypic traits of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plant responses to abiotic stresses are complex and dynamic, and involve changes in different traits, either as the direct consequence of the stress, or as an active acclimatory response. Abiotic stresses frequently occur simultaneously or in succession, rather than in isolation. Despite this, most studies have focused on a single stress and single or few plant traits. To address this gap, our study comprehensively and categorically quantified the individual and combined effects of three major abiotic stresses associated with climate change (flooding, progressive drought and high temperature) on 12 phenotypic traits related to morphology, development, growth and fitness, at different developmental stages in four Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. Combined sublethal stresses were applied either simultaneously (high temperature and drought) or sequentially (flooding followed by drought). In total, we analysed the phenotypic responses of 1782 individuals across these stresses and different developmental stages. Overall, abiotic stresses and their combinations resulted in distinct patterns of effects across the traits analysed, with both quantitative and qualitative differences across accessions. Stress combinations had additive effects on some traits, whereas clear positive and negative interactions were observed for other traits: 9 out of 12 traits for high temperature and drought, 6 out of 12 traits for post-submergence and drought showed significant interactions. In many cases where the stresses interacted, the strength of interactions varied across accessions. Hence, our results indicated a general pattern of response in most phenotypic traits to the different stresses and stress combinations, but it also indicated a natural genetic variation in the strength of these responses. This includes novel results regarding the lack of a response to drought after submergence and a decoupling between leaf number and flowering time after submergence. Overall, our study provides a rich characterization of trait responses of Arabidopsis plants to sublethal abiotic stresses at the phenotypic level and can serve as starting point for further in-depth physiological research and plant modelling efforts.

pyXPCSviewer: an open-source interactive tool for X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy visualization and analysis.

pyXPCSviewer, a Python-based graphical user interface that is deployed at beamline 8-ID-I of the Advanced Photon Source for interactive visualization of XPCS results, is introduced. pyXPCSviewer parses rich X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) results into independent PyQt widgets that are both interactive and easy to maintain. pyXPCSviewer is open-source and is open to customization by the XPCS community for ingestion of diversified data structures and inclusion of novel XPCS techniques, both of which are growing demands particularly with the dawn of near-diffraction-limited synchrotron sources and their dedicated XPCS beamlines.

Parameter estimation for X-ray scattering analysis with Hamiltonian Markov Chain Monte Carlo.

Bayesian-inference-based approaches, in particular the random-walk Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, have received much attention recently for X-ray scattering analysis. Hamiltonian MCMC, a state-of-the-art development in the field of MCMC, has become popular in recent years. It utilizes Hamiltonian dynamics for indirect but much more efficient drawings of the model parameters. We described the principle of the Hamiltonian MCMC for inversion problems in X-ray scattering analysis by estimating high-dimensional models for several motivating scenarios in small-angle X-ray scattering, reflectivity, and X-ray fluorescence holography. Hamiltonian MCMC with appropriate preconditioning can deliver superior performance over the random-walk MCMC, and thus can be used as an efficient tool for the statistical analysis of the parameter distributions, as well as model predictions and confidence analysis.